A sea of people packed inside the mall. From a bird's eye view, they looked like a colony of ants inside their anthill. They filled all floors, looking down by the railings to the stage set up on the ground floor. Even when no celebrities appeared yet, they were already screaming and chanting and crying their hearts out.
The mall show was hosted by a popular daily afternoon-time TV program. It would usually broadcast live from the studio every weekday, but sometimes it would travel to different places like festivals, amusement parks, and in this case, malls. Today, it was sponsored by the mall to showcase the new renovations and newly added stores.
For the first half of the program, the hosts did their usual talk-slash-variety segments. Then finally…
"We have very special guests today," one of the hosts announced. "And I know that they're the real reason why all of you came here today!"
The crowd cheered.
"Aaaw. And here I thought you all came for me! What a way to dash my over-confidence," the other host joked.
Everyone laughed and continued to do so as they hosts bantered with each other.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, from the hit TV drama 'Our Love, Our Destiny'—"
"Singing the love song of the year 'Shining Eyes', please welcome—"
"JIN CHONGLIN and IRIS LONG!!!"
Iris and Jin Chonglin walked out of a nearby store, apparently hiding there the whole time. The wild crowd went even crazier when they appeared. The two were encircled by tight security made up of Iris and Jin Chonglin's personal bodyguards in addition to the mall security. Iris and Jin Chonglin waved at the crowd, as the opening of their song played in the background.
Still walking on their way to the stage, Jin Chonglin raised his mic and began singing. His voice was deep and smooth, making the majority of people shiver with delight, like they ate something warm and sweet.
"Walking down the town of life
I caught a glimpse of you"
The crowd of adoring fans raised their hands up in the air and waved it along with the music while singing along. Everyone looked like one giant coral reef waving their tentacles with the flowing water. It was an amazing sight to see. The cameras took several shots of the audience, giving the live viewers at home an idea of how spectacular the impromptu effect was.
Jin Chonglin continued singing while pointing at the adoring crowd and flashing them with his killer smile. Many fans fainted right there and then. The hand waving was interrupted as his army of fans descended into hysterical screaming and shrieking.
"Your beautiful self
Making even the flowers smile back"
They finally reached the stage. He climbed up first before extending a hand to help Iris after him, as she also began to sing.
"Smitten I followed you around
Not expecting anything in return
But you always knew
So your shining eyes saw me"
Some were already having goosebumps and even tearing up because Iris Long's voice always sounded so exquisite ever since her comeback. She was the type of singer whose live performance's voice sounded almost the same, sometimes even better, than the original studio recordings of her songs.
The music became full as the sound of the orchestra played in the background, washing over the sea of people inside the mall. Iris and Jin Chonglin were singing with only a recording of the song because it was inconvenient to bring their musicians to this mall show. The two originally planned on playing an acoustic version where either Iris or Jin Chonglin would play the guitar, but the TV program asked them to sing with the recording instead, saying that the full studio version of the song would sound better on TV than an acoustic version.
Now the two were at the centre of the stage, serenading everyone with what was dubbed the love song of the year. Their voices soared together, harmonizing perfectly as if they belonged together. The original LinRis fans could only sigh at the fact that the two were meant to be siblings-in-law and not lovers.
The audience continued singing along with them, many with tears flowing down their faces. Even a couple of the hosts standing beside the stage could be seen dabbing at their eyes.
Iris and Jin Chonglin sang the last line of the song together while looking at each other's eyes. Both of them had smiles on their faces. She, a bright smile showing how much she was enjoying the performance. He, a deep smile tinged with a little sadness.
"I got you~"
"LINRIS! LINRIS!! LINRIS!!!"
Even though most of their fans already accepted that Iris was engaged to Jin Chonglin's elder brother and not to him, they still used their couple name to cheer for them…because it was easier to chant.
"Thank you, everyone!"
"Thank you very much!"
Iris and Jin Chonglin bowed and waved at their adoring fans after their performance. The hosts came forward and sandwiched the two of them in the centre before beginning to interview them.
It was a short interview because time was tight. The TV program was being broadcast live and they had to follow a strict time allowance for each segment. The massive crowd of people in the mall might have come for Iris and Jin Chonglin but at the end of the day, the two were still only special guests in today's show. They were only supposed to perform their one song, "Shining Eyes", and also to promote their upcoming song which would be released soon this month.
"I wrote 'Shining Eyes' while Senior Chonglin wrote our next song," Iris told everyone. "The two songs are very different, corresponding to our own distinct musical styles, but both still talk about the same universal theme of love. Yes, our next song will still be a love song but with a kick."
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